Police-Hispanic Committee sets November agenda

The Mammoth Lakes Police-Community Hispanic Advisory Committee has finalized plans for the next Town Hall meeting for Friday, Nov. 30, at 4:30 p.m.

Police Chief Dan Watson said the Town Hall meeting will have a tight focus on the implications of the so-called Dream Act. The meeting will be held at the Grand Sierra Lodge, 1111 Forest Trail.

The Dream Act would provide conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented residents of good moral character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment.

According to a draft of the legislation, if the undocumented residents were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four-year institution of higher learning, they would obtain temporary residency for a six-year period.

Within the six-year period, they may qualify for permanent residency if they have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or have completed at least two years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States,” or have “served in the armed services for at least two years and, if discharged, have received an honorable discharge.”

At the Nov. 30 meeting, Watson said presentations will be made by representatives from the Mexican Consulate, the Mono County Department of Health, the California Highway Patrol, and an immigration rights attorney who will be speaking on the Dream Act. There will also be an Open Forum where questions can be asked of representatives of these agencies, along with the Mammoth Lakes Police Department and the Mono County Sheriff’s Department.

Watson said interpreters will be present, and it will be possible for attendees to ask questions anonymously using index cards. Food will be provided, and there will be supervised childcare.

The Hispanic Advisory Committee was created in late 2010 in an effort to build trust and improve communications between the Police Department and the Hispanic community of Mammoth Lakes.